Superman Returns (Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth) 1/2
It's tough to stand for truth and justice these days. Just ask the people exiting from the Empire movie theatre at the opening show in Saint John last night, who grumbled that the best part of Superman Returns was the trailer that ran for Spider-Man 3 beforehand. Gone are the days when one franchise cornered the market on comic book adaptations turned into films. The explosion of big budget superhero blockbusters have created a competitive and lucrative industry. Today, Superman's squeaky clean message of doing good seems on the surface to have only one level, that of good and evil, right and wrong, black and white. Factor in the inescapable aspect that he is practically invincible, and you have a character who potentially stands to gain no traction with his audience. In today's society, who can relate to someone who's essentially perfect in every way?
However, what director Brian Singer's Superman Returns understands implicitly is that it is not merely any one aspect of Superman's perfectionism that has drawn millions of fans to his mythos over the decades, but, in an odd way, that Superman chooses to carry the burden of the sum of all perfect aspects upon himself, and this ends up being at the expense of his own, well, humanity (setting aside the fact that he is, in fact, in alien).
His perfectionism manifests itself in virtually every way the human condition might dream up.
First, he is not just stronger than anyone else, he is basically without susceptibility to illness or weakness (note how his lone Achilles' heel, kryptonite, is a "super-rare" substance in and of itself; the creators could just as easily have chosen a more common substance to balance the scales, but decided against using something that might make Superman less super). Next, consider he . And how about the fact that some of the very people he chooses to live among, such as criminals, thieves or the villainous Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) are continuously trying to cause harm, wreak havoc and destroy? By living among a species that is always opting to do the wrong thing to themselves or others, this generates a necessary need for balance. And so, Superman always does the right thing, always. All of these, and more, are physical and moral aspects that human beings wish for, strive for, long for, and yet, Superman is proof that being in possession of any or all of these is as fraught with burden, if not more so, as not having them. How goes the saying of too much of a good thing?
But I digress. The point is, it's tough to stand for truth and justice these days. Clark Kent and, coincidentally, Superman, have just returned to the city of Metropolis after a several year absence, during which time Superman has sought out the remains of his home planet, Krypton. Meanwhile, human beings on Earth have reverted back to crimes, schemes, and the occasional potentially perilous accident. Clark's cover story at the Daily Planet is that he was away on a trip; meanwhile Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has given up waiting for Superman to return and has gotten engaged to someone else (James Franco) and had a son too (Tristan Leabu).
The nefarious Lex Luthor has gotten his hands on some Krypton crystals, and has big plans to create a new continent of his own. In the process, the other bodies of land will sink and fall, causing billions of innocent people to die. Matters are further complicated when Luthor gets his hand on Lois Lane and her son, who may on his own hold a key to an important secret (of particular note is a memorable scene featuring a piano, which is preceded by a hilarious duet of "Heart and Soul" that is best left seen than described). There is inevitably a showdown that starts out by adhering to the mythology of the Superman universe, but it gradually leads to a specific moment which some purists may cry foul at with respect to its plausibility and logic.
Then again, over-the-top gasps are what the comic books are all about, and Superman Returns is chock full of tasty cheese and cornball theatrics. Chances are, if the original Christopher Reeve movies didn't make you put a towel around your neck and run out your kitchen trying to save the Earth, then you won't embrace this newly upgraded version either. There are actually some coy nods throughout the picture, as when Superman lifts an overturned car, thus mirroring the cover of the very first issue of Action Comics, or when a verbal dispute over a blurry photo prompts Daily Planet editor Perry White (Frank Langella) and Lois Lane to quote the famous tagline, "It's a bird," "It's a plane", etc. Even John Williams's masterful score remains more or less in tact and is hearkened to throughout the film.
I was surprised to hear that the movie cost a lot of money to make, because, as with all aerial/soaring/swinging special effects in recent big budget movies, I found the flying moments to be unconvincing and shoddy. Fortunately though, the foundation of the film's heart is on the ground, in the awkward complexity of the triangle between Lois, her fiancée, and the Man of Steel. Everyone tries to work their way through their feelings without getting left behind, and amidst all the chaos and disaster, there are even a few moments of quiet beauty and sincere tenderness. Unlike its title character, Superman Returns is not without flaws, but at the very least, the film does a better job of gleefully bringing its source material to life than the Spider-Man franchise. It may be tough being Superman these days, but thank God he's around.
